Amazon cancels charitable donation initiative so it can focus on 'programs with greater impact'

TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch logo]( [The Daily Crunch logo]( By [Christine Hall]( and [Haje Jan Kamps]( Thursday, January 19, 2023 Thursday! This week has just flown by, and we’re still reeling from the excitement that [a company is leaning into compliments](. Compliments? In this day and age? Is there actually hope for us after all?! Well, we have a compliment for ya, [Mike](— thank you for spreading some joy into our day today! — [Christine]( and [Haje]( [ image] Image Credits: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images The TechCrunch Top 3 - [Amazon turned that smile upside down](: Shopping for charity is going to not be a thing for Amazon after February. Amid layoffs and other cuts, the delivery giant said it was ending its AmazonSmile program to focus on other philanthropic endeavors of its own, [Romain]( reports. - [Give ’em what they want](: [Mike]( writes that “German teens went crazy for Slay’s app that gives compliments,” and now venture capitalists are getting in on the fun and backing its next phase. - [Storefront builder’s gold mine](: Oro, an open source e-commerce platform, is going against the grain of other platforms by targeting businesses. That approach is paying off as the company announces $13 million in new funding. [Paul]( has more. [Download the New 2023 Compensation Guide from Betts]( Sponsored by [Betts]( [Curious about how much different jobs in tech pay in 2023? Betts breaks down tech salaries per timezone and years of experience and what other trends are impacting tech hiring across the US. Download now to see if your salary matches up.]( [Download Here]( Startups and VC People are addicted to credit cards — and it’s no wonder, given the lucrative rewards that many of them offer. But for merchants, credit cards tend to be less appealing, [Kyle]( reports. Merchants are on the hook for interchange fees, or transaction fees a merchant’s bank must pay whenever a customer uses a card to make a purchase. Link comes to the rescue, and [the company raised $30 million]( to help merchants accept direct bank payments. You know, like consumers in Europe have been able to do since the 1990s. In recent years, working for, or banking with, a traditional financial institution was decidedly uncool. Far cooler was working for or banking with one of the many fintech startups that seemed to thumb their nose at stodgy bank brands, [Connie]( reports. [A lot of fintechs “have to fix their business models,”]( according to fintech-investing VCs. And we have five more for you: - It’s better than yours: Outrider brings all their autonomous electric trucks to yard, and they’re, like, it’s better than yours, [Kirsten]( reports, as the company raises [$73 million to brings its autonomous electric yard trucks into the mainstream](. - Someone let the air out of space: Private investment in space companies [dropped 58% last year,](even with SpaceX and Anduril monster raises, [Aria]( reports. - Feeling the pressure: [Brian]( reports that dry-cleaning robotics startup [Presso raised another $8 million](. - Call me on my $ell phone: India’s PhonePe [tops $12 billion valuation]( in new funding, [Manish]( reports. - Who needs designers anyway: Scenario lands $6 million for its [AI platform that generates game art assets](, reports [Kyle](. [Teach yourself growth marketing: How to boot up an email marketing campaign]( In the third article of a five-part series, growth marketing expert Jonathan Martinez (Uber, Postmates, Chime) explains how to create and optimize email campaigns that will “push consumers through your funnel and drive conversions.” Martinez shares fundamentals for segmenting customers and anticipating where leaks will occur along the funnel you’re developing. Startups that recapture these users can eke out a higher ARR, and every little bit counts. “It is crucial to distill user segments as much as possible because we must ensure that we’re sending the right messaging to the right consumers.” Three more from the TC+ team: - Worrying and getting worse: Women-founded startups [raised 1.9% of all VC funds in 2022](, which represents a drop from 2021, [Dominic-Madori]( reports. - Tearin’ into the decks: [Haje](’s weekly Pitch Deck Teardown is here. This week he takes a closer look at [Scrintal’s $1 million seed deck](. - Response is for the birds: [Twitter’s data leak response is a lesson in how not to do cybersecurity](, reports [Carly](. [TechCrunch+]( is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack.[You can sign up here](. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! [Read More]( [Teach yourself growth marketing: How to boot up an email marketing campaign image] Image Credits: Jasmin Merdan / Getty Images Big Tech Inc. We know, it’s hard to put that phone down, and all those distracting dings and buzzes don’t help. Well, Instagram’s got your back with a [Quiet Mode that helps you take a break from the app]( and even tells your peeps you are on DND. [Sarah]( writes that this is just one of several new changes on the app, including some other time management tools and expanded parental controls. Meanwhile, fast fashion ain’t what it used to be…valued at. [Rita]( reports that [Shein is reportedly accepting a lower valuation]( as it seeks to raise $3 billion in new funding. The company is said to be raising on a $64 billion valuation, down from the [$100 billion price tag in April](; however, “Shein denies the accuracy of some of the information,” she writes. And we have five more for you: - We want s’more Smores:[Smores, a music discovery app](, wants to show you the songs you’ve been dying to hear, but in a way you want it and with a TikTok-like feed,[Ivan]( writes. - One way or another: Over in Europe, [Natasha L]( reports that [Meta dodged a €4 billion privacy fine]( over unlawful ads, while [WhatsApp gets its hand slapped]( for processing data without a lawful basis. - They’re not spending like they used to: [Ron]( reports that [analysts cut their 2023 tech spending predictions]( as the economy forces consumers to scale back. - Is it that time already?: FTX’s new CEO is now saying [there’s a possibility for the crypto exchange to restart](. [Jacquelyn]( has more. - Someone has a “420” obsession: Elon Musk’s now famous tweet about taking Tesla private[could lose him billions]( as it plays out in trial, [Rebecca]( reports. [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Epic BI Developer (Remote) at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (Toppenish, WA, USA)]( - [Senior Data Center Infrastructure Engineer at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (New Stanton, PA, USA)]( - [FOUNDATION RELATIONS ASSOCIATE at Catalyst California (Los Angeles, CA, USA)]( - [Principal software engineer (SQL API) at Cube Dev (San Francisco, CA, USA)]( - [Lead Software Engineer at Cube Dev (San Francisco, CA, USA)]( [See more jobs on CrunchBoard]( [Post your tech jobs]( and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Flipboard]( [View this email online in your browser]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Unsubscribe]( © 2023 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103